


The Fox and the Boy

by Rubyleaf



Category: Shadow of the Fox Series - Julie Kagawa
Genre: Childhood Friends AU, F/M, Friendship, I got emotional about Tatsumi and had to do something about it, I imagine pre-Kamigoroshi Tatsumi as a shy kid, I'm so sorry, Pre-Relationship, Sad with a Hopeful Ending, Tiny Tatsumi and Yumeko, WARNING: canon-typical child abuse, Yumeko the Ultimate BFF, more relationship backstory to an altered canon really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22789006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubyleaf/pseuds/Rubyleaf
Summary: Growing up, Tatsumi and Yumeko have always been best friends. But when Tatsumi gets chosen as the next bearer of Kamigoroshi, everything starts to change.
Relationships: Kage Tatsumi/Yumeko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	The Fox and the Boy

Sometimes the world is frightening to Kage Tatsumi, but at least he has Yumeko-chan.

They’re not supposed to be friends, technically. He’s part of the Shadow Clan and she’s just a commoner from the neighboring town, and the adults keep telling him it’s undignified for him to treat her like an equal. She is also half kitsune, something that would get her killed if people knew about it, so Tatsumi has promised her to never tell anyone about it, ever.

However, Yumeko is also one of the closest people to his own age, as well as the most fun by far. Playing with Yumeko never gets boring. She knows how to climb trees and befriend wild animals; she can make teapots dance and shoes walk off on their own, and on boring afternoons she can fill the hours with the most incredible stories she has gathered from passing yokai. Yumeko is Tatsumi’s best friend in the whole world, and they’re sticking together no matter what happens.

Today, as usual, Tatsumi is supposed to meet up with her after his daily shinobi training. The adults know, of course. They don’t like it, but Tatsumi is very good at his training, so they don’t really see a point in stopping him for now.

But today, after the training, Tatsumi is held back. His usual teacher stops him as he is about to leave, and into the doorframe steps a man he has never seen before.

“This boy?” he asks, his sharp black eyes sizing Tatsumi up from head to toe.

The teacher nods. “This is Kage Tatsumi, Master Ichiro,” he says. “The boy you are looking for.”

Master Ichiro’s eyes narrow. Tatsumi does his best to stand firm under that gaze. He doesn’t like it. It chills him down to the bone.

“Good,” he finally says. “Come with me, child.”

Tatsumi throws a questioning glance at his teacher, then follows. Over his shoulder he catches Ayame’s eyes. She seems worried, but quickly looks away once he meets her gaze.

“No looking back,” Master Ichiro says. “Follow me.”

Tatsumi does, on and on through the winding corridors and hidden passages of the castle, all along thinking of Yumeko waiting for him at the pond. They were planning to catch some tadpoles today. He hopes this won’t take too long.

On they go. Master Ichiro loses no word on where they’re headed or how long it will take. Tatsumi has lost his orientation long ago. He doesn’t have the courage to ask where they are or what this man wants from him. Maybe Yumeko would have said something. But Yumeko isn’t here.

Finally Master Ichiro arrives at a heavy door and pushes it open. Beyond it lies a chamber, small and dark and empty except for a single sword.

“This is Kamigoroshi,” Master Ichiro says. “It is the sword of the Kage demonslayer.”

A shiver runs down Tatsumi’s spine. He doesn’t understand the whole demonslayer thing, but even he knows the demonslayer and his sword are something dangerous, something to be avoided. Why lead him to this chamber—to this thing that sounds so bad?

Master Ichiro’s eyes fall on him, sizing him up and down, appraising. Judging. As if even he himself doesn’t know why he brought this boy here.

“And you,” he says, “have been chosen as its next bearer.”

Tatsumi freezes where he stands. He looks at the sword, then down at his hands, then back at the sword. It’s longer than he is tall.

And he’s…supposed to carry it now? He’s supposed to be the bearer of this sword?

But doesn’t that mean…

“Within this sword resides a demon,” Master Ichiro says. “Its name is Hakaimono, and it has chosen you to be the next Kage demonslayer.”

Him. The demonslayer.

“But—” Tatsumi ventures.

“No arguing.” Master Ichiro’s eyes flash. “The sword chooses the bearer, and it has chosen you. Your task is only to wield it, do what you’re assigned and not let the demon possessing it take over your mind.”

_I can’t._

The thought is immediate, so intense that Tatsumi can just barely stop himself from saying it out loud. This sword is so big…this demon sounds powerful. And Tatsumi is neither of those things. He’s just…Tatsumi.

“Fear not,” Master Ichiro says. “We will teach you everything you need to know.”

Tatsumi nods stiffly. Master Ichiro strides past him into the chamber, picking up the sword and holding it out towards him. “Take it.”

He tries and nearly drops it. It’s heavy…too heavy for his arms. He can’t hold this thing!

_Hello, human child._

Tatsumi does drop it this time.

“A voice…” he whispers, stumbling backwards, trembling. “There’s a voice in—”

“Brat! Who told you to drop it?” Master Ichiro snaps, shoving Kamigoroshi back into his hands. Tatsumi tries to resist, but he’s only a child, and Ichiro grabs his hands and forces them around the sword. “Stop showing fear! The voice in your head is Hakaimono. You must never show him any emotions, or he will take over your body and slaughter everyone around you.”

Tatsumi grips the sword in desperation. His face is reflected in the gleaming metal of the sword, but all he sees before his eyes is a giant shadow, adorned with the grinning, mocking grimace of an oni.

“What happens if I fail?” he whispers.

Master Ichiro leans down. It’s the one time he does something to be on the same eye level as him, staring deep into his soul with eyes just as black as the newly formed shadow in Tatsumi’s mind.

“If you fail,” he says, “we will have to kill you.”

—

Several days pass before Tatsumi gets to see Yumeko again. Master Ichiro has taken over his training, and he doesn’t allow him to go out and meet with friends. The Kage demonslayer, he says, must not have any friends. He must not love or get attached, or Hakaimono will instantly use that against him.

Tatsumi understands that. But his best friend is out there, waiting for him, probably mad at him for standing her up. And he just wants to tell her about all of this, and he can’t, and it hurts him.

Kamigoroshi remains in his room, unused for now, just lying on the floor like a harbinger of doom. At night Tatsumi lies awake, staring at the weapon, too afraid to touch it even though Master Ichiro keeps telling him to, saying he needs to get accustomed to Hakaimono’s presence. When he sleeps, he is still restless, and the demon continues to haunt his dreams.

It is late at night when something scrapes on his sliding doors. Something that doesn’t sound human at all.

More like a fox, really.

Tatsumi flings off his blanket and opens the door. In comes Yumeko, looking around before transforming into a human. “Tatsumi,” she says, “are you all right? You haven’t come to visit me all week, catching tadpoles was no fun without you!”

Tatsumi looks at her, her gentle eyes, her round, familiar face. The look of concern and understanding. Something no one else has shown him since he became the new owner of Kamigoroshi.

Tears well up in his eyes.

“Yumeko,” he says, “I’m the demonslayer now!”

Her eyes go round. She hasn’t heard as much, but even to her that name brings fear. “What do you mean, demonslayer?” she says. “I thought you weren’t big enough for a sword!”

Tatsumi wipes his eyes and motions to the sword. “The demon…Hakaimono,” he says. “He’s in there…in the sword…he chose me.” He swallows, sniffles, but his vision keeps blurring. “I have to do it now…and Master…Master Ichiro says I can’t ever have friends or feel things anymore or the demon takes me over…and…” His voice breaks. Tears begin to run down his face. “And they’re going to kill me!”

“What? That’s stupid!” Yumeko looks both shocked and angry. “Fighting and demons should be stuff for the grownups, not us! That’s so dumb!”

Tatsumi swallows, wipes his eyes and nods. Then waits.

“Are you scared of me now?” he finally asks.

Yumeko gapes at him. “What?”

“Because I…I’m the demonslayer.” Tatsumi sniffles and hiccups. “I’m a bad guy now…and…”

He doesn’t get any further before Yumeko grabs him and tackles him with a hug.

“Of course I’m not scared,” she says. “You’re my best friend! And best friends stick together, remember?”

Tatsumi doesn’t say anything. He can’t answer. All he can do is bury his face in Yumeko’s shoulder and squeeze her tightly.

“Actually,” Yumeko says, “let’s run away.”

Tatsumi pulls back. “What?”

“From all this,” she answers. “This sword and the whole…demonslaying stuff. Let’s get away and you can live a normal life, how’s that?”

Tempting. So tempting.

But…

“Impossible,” Tatsumi says sadly. “It doesn’t work that way.” He wipes his eyes again. “Hakaimono’s stuck with me until I die.”

“Or he does!” Yumeko answers. “There’s got to be a way to get rid of him!”

But Tatsumi shakes his head.

“I’m sure there is,” Yumeko insists. “We just have to find it. Hang in there, all right? I’ll find out a way to save you for sure!”

Tatsumi almost starts crying again, but instead he forces his lips into a wobbly smile.

“Thank you.”

—

Yumeko keeps visiting him in secret. Every night she sneaks inside to talk to him, sometimes tell him a story, and it means the world to Tatsumi that at least to one person he’s still not the demonslayer, not a monster, but simply Kage Tatsumi.

One night the little fox comes into his room bearing something in her mouth. She drops it in front of him when she transforms, and upon closer inspection Tatsumi finds it’s a small fox doll.

“That’s to cheer you up when I’m not here,” she says. “I made it myself!”

Tatsumi is pretty sure Master Ichiro would never approve of him owning a toy, but just the sight of that little fox makes everything so much easier that he takes it anyway and hides it far from the adults’ line of sight.

_A stuffed doll?_ Hakaimono taunts him later that night. _How sentimental._

Tatsumi closes his eyes, covers his ears. He doesn’t want to hear that voice.

_You cannot keep me out this way, little one,_ the demon answers. _I am within you. You can run, but you can never escape from your mind._

“Shut up,” Tatsumi whispers.

_You seem to care about this girl a lot._ There is a smile in the demon’s voice. _How would you like it if I sliced this doll of hers to pieces, I wonder?_

Tatsumi curls up under the blanket, shivering. The sword lies too close to him, too big and too close and too heavy to move.

_And her along with it?_

—

Hakaimono keeps taunting him.

Tatsumi tries to ignore it, but the voice is getting louder. Most of the time he can tune out the demon. He feels nothing anymore when people in the palace avoid him. He feels nothing when Master Ichiro beats him for making a mistake. He feels nothing when he is forced to kill small creatures, living beings that he knows Yumeko considers her friends. But when it comes to Yumeko…he can’t tune it out.

He can’t be uncaring when it comes to her. He can’t tear himself from this attachment, the last one he still had. His best friend. The only person still keeping him sane, keeping him human.

He does try to distance himself, for her sake. He has talked her into not coming over as often, and on nights without her he hugs the fox doll close and endures the fear and loneliness. But dropping her entirely? He can’t do that. He simply can’t.

Even if he knows it’s a weakness.

Even if he knows that, sooner or later, Hakaimono will use it against him.

—

Tatsumi finally arrives on Yumeko’s doorstep during the daytime, looking like he is carrying a heavy burden.

He is eleven now, tall and strong enough to wield Kamigoroshi, just barely. Most of the time it still looks like the sword is wielding him. But he keeps hauling it with him anyway, why, Yumeko doesn’t know.

“Tatsumi,” she says. “What’s up?”

For a moment something akin to pain crosses his face, then it transforms back into an emotionless mask. “Yumeko,” he says, “I need you to stop visiting me.”

It’s like a punch in the gut. Yumeko flinches. “What?” she asks. “But—”

“It’s Hakaimono. He keeps threatening…to kill you,” Tatsumi whispers. “I need to cut you off, or he will take over.”

Impossible. Impossible. All these years, and it’s been fine. “You managed before!” Yumeko bursts out. “What changed?”

“He’s growing stronger.” Tatsumi closes his eyes, and his blank expression wavers. “I can’t bear it much longer. We can’t be friends anymore.”

Yumeko swallows. Tears well up in her eyes. “But you’re my best friend,” she says. “What happened to best friends forever? What happened to no matter what?”

“I’m sorry.” Tatsumi’s hands clench into fists at his sides. “But if you don’t leave…I can’t promise I won’t kill you someday.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Yumeko says. “You would never—”

“Yumeko,” Tatsumi says. “ _Please._ ”

She doesn’t want to, but the look in his eyes convinces her that he means every word.

—

Tatsumi is twelve when Master Ichiro finally finds the fox doll.

“What did I tell you about toys?” he exclaims as he hits him, again and again, until Tatsumi’s back is blue with bruises. “No getting attached to anything, not even inanimate objects! Are you trying to get us all killed?”

Finally he stops beating him and shoves Kamigoroshi into his hands. “Destroy it,” he says. “Here. Now.”

Tatsumi stumbles back like he’s been hit in the face. “I—”

“No buts! Destroy it before it destroys all of us.” Master Ichiro narrows his eyes. “Or would you rather I do it?”

Tatsumi swallows, steels himself. The fox doll sits on the ground, looking up at him with black button eyes so similar to Yumeko’s own fox form. And suddenly it’s not a toy sitting in front of him. It’s Yumeko, looking up at him with pleading, innocent eyes.

_No attachments._

Tatsumi lifts his sword, and pieces of stuffing fly all over the room.

—

The Silent Winds temple is burning.

Yumeko runs down the forest path, away from the oni, away from everything. Her chest hurts, and not from the smoke. She went to this place with Master Isao after Tatsumi ended their friendship, and it was her new home. Her family.

And now, once again, she is all alone.

Or would be, if not for the figure suddenly emerging in front of her.

Yumeko staggers back, expecting another oni. But the face before her is human—no, not only that. It’s familiar.

All these years, and she still recognizes him on sight.

“Tatsumi?” she rasps out.

“Yumeko,” he whispers. For a brief moment something akin to emotion flashes up in his voice.

“What are you doing here?” she says. “The temple—”

“I could ask you the same,” he says coldly. “I’m not here for you.”

“The temple is gone.”

Tears well up in her eyes, and Yumeko lets herself drop down to the ground. “The monks…they’re all dead,” she says. “The temple was attacked by oni, they sent me away, but…but…”

She wishes she could hug him like she would have done in their childhood. But the Tatsumi in front of her is no longer her friend. He is no longer anyone’s friend.

A hand lands on her shoulder, awkward but warm.

“Tell me what happened,” Tatsumi says. “I had an errand up there. A certain scroll…”

Yumeko thinks of the thing hidden in her furoshiki. Briefly she wonders if she should tell him. Better not. The way he is now…he might kill her, or else abandon her here in the wild.

Instead she thinks of something else.

“Master Isao sent it away,” she says. “He expected the temple to be attacked. The place it’s at now is…the Steel Feather temple, I think it’s called. He told me how to find it.” Her eyes meet Tatsumi’s. “I could lead you there, if you want.”

Tatsumi hesitates. Yumeko knows what he’s thinking: that this is a risk, and he’s playing with fire. Hakaimono threatened him over her before. But…

“Fine,” Tatsumi mutters, and it sounds like someone pronouncing his own doom. “I will follow you. But remember—I’m only your companion, not your friend.”

Yumeko knows that, and yet she can’t help smiling at the thought of traveling with him.

“I know.”


End file.
